


Creatures of Shadow and Flame

by honeyedapricotsunshine



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 09:24:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17139218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honeyedapricotsunshine/pseuds/honeyedapricotsunshine
Summary: Prompt #8In which demon!Kyungsoo and demon!Chanyeol are sent to destroy a town





	Creatures of Shadow and Flame

 

**From _The Exorcists Field Guide to Demons (15th Century Revised Version)_**

Categories of Demon: 

-empyreal 

recognizable by: gold tipped horns

demons of fire and heat,  ~~ the rarest and  ~~ ( _Friar Anthony of San Millán de la Cogolla notes that there has been a rise in empyreal demon populations in recent years_ ) most destructive kind of demon; responsible for wildfires, volcanic eruptions

-aerial

recognizable by: translucent horns, bat-like wings

demons of wind and flight, these often create  ~~ minor ~~ catastrophes such as tornadoes ( _Sister Magda of the Santuario de Las Lajas notes that it is still unclear as to the categorization of tempestuous and aerial as two separate categories)_

-subterranean

recognizable by: moss speckled horns, often ram horns

demons of the underground, responsible for sinkholes and earthquakes, quite destructive

-tempestuous

recognizable by: curled silver tipped horns

demons of storm, these are thought to be a weaker form of umbral, but still capable of catastrophic destruction (see entry on hurricanes), many of them are lucifugous

-aqueous

recognizable by: translucent blue horns, curled like shells

demons of water, these are often responsible for coastal catastrophes such as tsunamis and tidal waves, as well as inland water catastrophes such as river floods and limnic eruptions

-terrene (terrestrial)

recognizable by: mottled brown bull horns

demons of earth, responsible for landslides, avalanches

-umbral (shadow)

recognizable by: tapering black horns

demons of shadow and darkness, these demons are not fully understood, as the full extent of their powers has not been studied ( _Friar Michael of Santa Maria del Popolo suspects they may have been responsible for the spread of the Black Death; these suspicions have not been corroborated)_

 

**From _Demonic Protocol in the Earthly Realm_**

Unmated Demons remain in corporeal form; this form  must be recognizably human

Demons that are to mate must do so in Hell, unless a major catastrophe is planned for an earthly town

 

**From _Demon Anatomy and Sexual Behaviors_**

The most common form of mate recognition among demons is through touch; upon first touch, both demons will begin to glow. Although it is recommended that all demon mating occur in hell, it is sufficient for demons to find isolated areas (areas such as the Eurasian Pole, Point Nemo, and the innermost areas of the Atacama Desert).

A more extreme form of mate recognition is the loss of power. This is often the case with demons whose essences are polar opposites. Their power will gradually weaken and be transferred to the other demon; if the demons do not copulate before this process is complete, it may result in death, as the power, which is so alien to their own, would consume their essence. Mating of this kind should be undertaken in hell, as often the effects of the restoration of power are catastrophic (one such union of an empyreal and an umbral (ninth form and sixth form, respectively) caused the eruption of Krakatoa). 

 

 

—————

 

The first thing they noticed was the massive spiral of storm clouds above the spire of the church. It dwarfed the village, a thundering vortex with veins of lightning that crackled and lit up the sky. Wind battered the shutters of the houses, small cottages of brick and stone with shingled roofs. The only building taller than two stories high was the church, a massive gothic basilica that dominated the landscape; the iron cross atop its spire appeared to pierce the center of the storm. Chanyeol sighed, scratching just beneath his right horn.

“I know this town was damned but this is too much,” he said, craning his neck to look at the blue tinge of lightning that spread across the clouds.

“That’s why we’re here,” Kyungsoo grumbled. “Where do you think they’re staying?”

Chanyeol snorted.

“Are you kidding me? With a display this dramatic, they’ve obviously taken the church.”

Obviously. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and stomped his way down the cobblestone path. It was odd, really, that a church as magnificent and colossal as the one before him would be situated in a town as dilapidated and remote as this. Chanyeol sputtered into action behind him, catching up in two (only two) long steps. The columns of dove gray loomed before them and the massive pewter doors had been blown out, hanging by their hinges. The scenes on the doors had been crudely burnt, replaced with childish drawings of horned demons with forked tails, red and glowing in the gloom of the storm. The scenes continued along the walls, flames and demons and fiery steeds and burning souls and the little town they were in with the towering church and the spiral of black that crowned it.

“Cute,” said Kyungsoo, poking a figure. It wiggled, then stopped, frozen in its original form.

“No wonder there are so many people still alive in this damn town,” Chanyeol muttered, glaring at the demons that began to shimmy, sticking their small red tongues out. “Stop that!”

Kyungsoo swallowed a giggle, but not before Chanyeol noticed the smile.

“Let’s just get this over with,” he snapped, walking towards the very center of the church.

It was empty. A massive space with nothing but shadows and a few brown leaves skittering across the stone. The pews, statues, reliquaries, altars, paintings, and stained glass windows were gone. Well, one was left. The rose window, circular and poised high above, was still intact, but the rest had been destroyed, letting in the wind and rain. There was no sign of the demons either.

“Well, let’s keep looking then,” said Chanyeol, but Kyungsoo stopped him.

“They’re here,” said Kyungsoo, and his eyes began to glow.

“Alright, come on,” said Chanyeol, clapping. “We haven’t got all day, just show yourselves and we can get this over with. We’ve got a town to destroy.”

And that did it. A demon appeared before them with tightly coiled silver-tipped horns and the glow of silver in his eyes. He looked rather bratty, tall and lean and all legs. No doubt he was the one who drew all the demons on the walls. He huffed, looked Chanyeol over, and flicked back a stray strand of hair.

“And you are?” Chanyeol asked when the other demon said nothing. Kyungsoo’s partner had whipped out his clipboard (they had more modern technology, of course, but Chanyeol insisted on “good ole paper”), tapping the pen against it.

“Tempestuous and lucifugous,” the other demon said at last.

“I’m so sorry, that sounds awful. Is it contagious?” Chanyeol asked, and Kyungsoo couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Of course Chanyeol could never keep his mouth shut.

“It means I’m heliophobic, stupid,” the other demon snapped, folding his arms across his chest.

“And you picked a gothic basilica to live in?” Chanyeol whistled, scribbling something on the clipboard. The other demon made a face.

“Name?” Chanyeol asked.

“Shouldn’t you know?” he asked.

“It’s two of you, I can’t magically guess which one of you is-”

“Sehun,” the demon finished.

Chanyeol let out an annoyed huff, eyebrows raised as he scribbled on the clipboard.

“Where’s your partner?”

“In the shadows,” said Sehun.

“Thank you, Edgar Allan Poe, now can you tell me that in a less cryptic way?” said Chanyeol, lip curled in annoyance.

“How can you work with this guy?” Sehun asked Kyungsoo. The small demon gave him a quick one shoulder shrug.

“You’re one to talk,” Chanyeol grumbled.

Sehun pouted.

“You’re so…dry,” said Sehun.

Kyungsoo couldn’t help the snort, covering his face when Chanyeol gave him a betrayed look. His partner sucked his teeth, took a deep breath, and looked at Sehun.

“Partner?” he asked again.

“Howdy,” said Sehun.

“Part _ner_?”

“I already told you, in the shadows,” Sehun insisted.

“He means it literally,” said another voice.

Chanyeol whipped around, bug eyed and absolutely comical when he continued to turn. No other demon was visible.

“Come _on_ , stop messing with me,” Chanyeol huffed.

Sehun stifled a giggle, swallowing hard when Chanyeol gave him a dirty look.

“We’re not messing with you,” said the voice again. “I’m an umbral.”

And so he was. The shadows writhed and gurgled till they swallowed the floor around them; they pooled next to Sehun and at last the owner of the voice appeared, shaking off excess shadows. This demon was stunning. He had horns black as a starless, moonless night that tapered backwards gently, dark hair that reached his shoulders, full lips and stunning eyes that were flat black, a darkness so absolute it seemed to suck the brightness of the whites of his eyes.

“Oh,” Chanyeol said in a small voice. “Name?”

“Jongin,” said the demon, a smile playing on his lips. He looked at Kyungsoo and Kyungsoo felt a wave of cold rush over him.

“Why haven’t you destroyed this town yet?” Chanyeol asked. Sehun rolled his eyes.

“We were given orders. Starve them out. Block the sun and let the crops fail, bring rain to flood the river-”

“And be discreet,” Chanyeol hissed. “ _That_ -” he jabbed a finger up, “-is not discreet.”

“What’s wrong with my storm cloud?” Sehun grumbled.

“I suppose it is a bit much,” said Jongin, but his eyes hadn’t left Kyungsoo. The other demon averted his eyes, clenching his jaw. He wasn’t sure what this demon was doing to him; he felt cut off from heat, from the fire that always burned at his core. It made his skin crawl.

“That’s why _we_ -” Chanyeol pointed at Kyungsoo and himself, “are here. Now it’s total and complete damnation. Of the catastrophic kind.”

“Ooh, I’ve always wanted to see that,” said Sehun, unable to contain the excitement. He bounced on the balls of his feet.

A shiver ran down Kyungsoo’s spine. Jongin was still looking at him, and despite the cold, the fear that froze his muscles, Kyungsoo didn’t want for the other demon to go away. It was almost like he needed proximity, as if Jongin were a center of warmth, a planet core to replenish Kyungsoo’s own. But that was ridiculous. Jongin was umbral, a demon of the shadows. It just didn’t add up. So Kyungsoo shook the feeling off as best he could and tuned in to the argument. Because of course Chanyeol and Sehun started bickering again.

“You still haven’t told us _your_ names,” Sehun hissed.

“That’s on a ‘need-to-know’ basis,” Chanyeol sniffed.

“You just wanted an excuse to say that,” said Sehun, sulking. “I bet you’re a sub.”

“A what?” Chanyeol sputtered.

“A subterranean, stupid. That’s why your ears are so damn big,” said Sehun.

“You’re the one allergic to the fucking sun, you imp-”

“Hey!” said Jongin, finally looking away. “I thought you were in a rush to destroy this place.”

Chanyeol fumed at Sehun’s charming grin, but stretched his neck.

“You might want to get clear of this place,” said Chanyeol.

“Wait but what are you going to do?” Sehun asked.

The other demon rolled his eyes.

“I’ll break the earth and damage most of the buildings, Kyungsoo will set it all on fire for good measure,” Chanyeol snapped. “Now get out.”

“I can’t,” said Kyungsoo, letting out a labored breath.

He remembered, then, something about mates from demon sex ed (yes, that was a thing); if the connection was strong enough, to deny it was to invite death. The powers would swap, fire into shadow, shadow consuming fire, until they succumbed to the element that was so alien in their core. Unless they fucked.

“What?” Chanyeol asked. Kyungsoo winced, eyes flicking towards Jongin (who was looking at him again, damnation and hellfire) then at his partner.

“It’s- I’m too cold. It’s like something here sucked the fire out of me,” Kyungsoo said weakly.

“J-Jongin why- why is all this light coming in?” Sehun whimpered. The maelstrom of clouds was still going strong, but the darkest parts, no doubt aided by Jongin’s shadows, had lost their depth. Sunlight began to filter in, thin bolts of light scattered across the cathedral floor. Sehun skirted one, ducking behind Chanyeol’s shadow.

“Oh shit,” said Chanyeol. Kyungsoo grimaced, waiting for the inevitable. “You guys are mates.”

“What?” Sehun squawked.

“It happens sometimes. The closer you are to your mate the more your powers weaken. Or invert,” said Chanyeol, glancing at Kyungsoo when he shivered. “Only- only copulation can restore their power.”

“Copu- oh. We should give them some privacy,” said Sehun, pink dusting his cheeks.

“Their- uh, _union_ will also probably wipe out this town.” 

“Talk about explosive climax,” said Sehun with a giggle, and Jongin cursed at him.

Chanyeol motioned towards the door, not bothering to hide his smile.

“After you, Mr. Sun Allergy.”

Sehun cursed at him but turned on his heel, stomping off. A cloud had formed over him, no doubt to protect him from the sun, and soon it was raining over Chanyeol as well. Kyungsoo couldn’t help the chuckle when Chanyeol shot him a miserable look, trailing behind the other demon.

Then they were alone.

Kyungsoo turned to face Jongin.

The demon looked hesitant, the depth of his eyes growing deeper as he looked at the curve of Kyungsoo’s legs. Kyungsoo gulped, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Hi,” he said. And instantly regretted it. Jongin gave him a small smile, which lessened the burn of Kyungsoo’s bashfulness. But really, what else could he say when Jongin was walking closer, stopping when there was hardly a hair’s breadth between them. Kyungsoo looked down, staring far too intensely at the steel toes on Jongin’s boots.

“You know,” Jongin began, and Kyungsoo flinched when he felt Jongin’s breath against his cheek. They were far too close. He stumbled back, away from the temptation to tear Jongin’s clothes to pieces, to drink the feverish warmth of his lips, to ride Jongin until the burn of his thighs tired him out. The other demon looked startled, blinking when Kyungsoo nearly tripped.

“No,” he said.

But of course Jongin didn’t know what he meant. The other demon stared, took a step forward, then decided against it.

“No what?” he asked, and Kyungsoo sputtered.

“No this,” he said.

Jongin raised an eyebrow.

“You’re going to have to be a little more specific than that,” he said.

“How are you talking normal right now?” Kyungsoo squeaked. Jongin laughed and fuck if that wasn’t the hottest thing, if it didn’t make Kyungsoo want to be bitten.

“I never thought my mate would be so stunning,” said Jongin, closing the distance between them, even as Kyungsoo kept stumbling away. Which was a really stupid idea. Kyungsoo tripped (over his own feet, how graceful of him), and closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable shock of hitting the floor, but it never came. Jongin caught him and placed him gently on the floor, kneeling beside him.

“I can’t. What if-” Kyungsoo cursed, placing a firm hand on Jongin’s chest when the other demon leaned closer. Oh. His chest. That was also firm. No. No, he couldn’t start feeling up Jongin’s pecs like this.

“What if what?” Jongin asked, placing his hand over Kyungsoo’s.

Kyungsoo glared at Jongin’s hand, but didn’t move it.

“I’m going to explode in flames when we- y’know,” he began.

“I know,” said Jongin. Kyungsoo stared at his lips, momentarily hypnotized by their fullness, but a rumble of thunder interrupted the spell.

“What if I kill you by mistake?” he asked at last. “What if I don’t make it either? I’ve never done anything quite so destructive and-”

“You’re worried,” Jongin finished. “I’m your _mate_ , Kyungsoo, why wouldn’t I survive?”

Kyungsoo shrugged, offering Jongin a bashful smile.

“I’ve never lost control,” he said softly, and Jongin squeezed his hand.

“Shadows cannot exist without the light of a fire to cast them,” said Jongin. “Just as a fire is not visible without darkness for it to be seen. We need each other, Kyungsoo. We’ll be fine.” He stroked Kyungsoo’s cheek and Kyungsoo let out a shaky breath.

“That- that makes sense,” he hiccuped, matching Jongin’s smile.

“So,” said Jongin, wiggling his eyebrows. The flatness of his eyes morphed into chasms again, even as a feverish sheen of sweat formed on his brow. Kyungsoo knew his own eyes of molten gold were glowing thanks to the fingers that had made their way under Kyungsoo’s shirt.

“So,” Kyungsoo repeated, climbing onto Jongin’s lap. “Let’s set this town on fire.”

He kissed Jongin, a deep, hot kiss, fingers entwined in the darkness of Jongin’s hair; somehow, the other demon’s hands had found their way to Kyungsoo’s ass, kneading them above the fabric of his jeans. The kiss was maddening, and Jongin felt hot under him. It was like drinking magma, intoxicating and rich and full of sweet, thick heat. He pressed a hand to Jongin’s chest, smiling into their kiss when Jongin let out a muffled moan of surprise; he’d burned off Jongin’s shirt and the ashes of it fell around them. Jongin pulled away from their kiss (and Kyungsoo, unwilling to stop the slow suck of heat from Jongin’s body, chased after his lips), eyebrow quirked in surprise.

“Two can play that game,” he purred.

With a hand still on Kyungsoo’s ass, he grinned; it was slow at first, almost imperceptible, until it wasn’t. Kyungsoo’s jeans melted right off, mixing with the pool of shadow and ashes that surrounded them. The dark eyed demon slipped a hot hand up Kyungsoo’s shirt and the shirt and jacket followed, leaving Kyungsoo a cold, naked sapling, desperately burying himself in the heat of Jongin.

Jongin wrapped his arms around Kyungsoo and brought him close, brushing his lips against the chill of Kyungsoo’s shoulder. Kyungsoo shivered as Jongin’s too hot lips made their way up his too hot neck.

“I’m cold,” said Kyungsoo, palming the overheated expanse of Jongin’s back.

“And I need cold,” said Jongin, nibbling on Kyungsoo’s earlobe.

Kyungsoo was unhinged; with each kiss, he grew colder, but his hunger for heat grew, until he burned off Jongin’s pants with a gruff grunt. He pressed himself against Jongin’s naked heat and sighed in contentment, but it lasted only a moment. He felt like a glutton, his lust for heat and for Jongin only growing.

“Please,” Kyungsoo hissed, guiding Jongin’s dick to his hole.

“Don’t you want—” Jongin’s sentence was cut off by a groan, digging his fingers into the cracking, cold skin of Kyungsoo’s waist as Kyungsoo sank onto him.

“Waste of time,” Kyungsoo grumbled. Demon anatomy had its perks; at times like this, foreplay and prep weren’t necessities, only niceties that impeded pleasure.

Kyungsoo watched Jongin lean back, the dark consuming his eyes, shadows burbling, an excess of darkness that carpeted the basilica’s floor and began to lap at the walls. When Kyungsoo began to move, to ride Jongin, slow and steady and calculating, the shadows went into a frenzy, swallowing the rest of the church, and from the corner of his eye he saw Sehun’s childish cartoons begin to dance.

But Kyungsoo was still cold. He braced himself against Jongin’s chest and quickened his pace. Yes, now that he was leaning forward, Jongin’s dick was hitting just the right spot, he felt the heat coming back to him, starting at the base of his spine. Precum dripped from Kyungsoo’s dick; each time he sank onto Jongin the heat spread, rippling and golden along his skin. He felt Jongin watching him (it was hard to tell now that his eyes were chasms, infinite in their darkness, but Kyungsoo could _feel_ the cold weight of them on him), but he was too lost in the pleasure, in the build of pressure and heat that was starting to rip him apart. Oh. Yes, he was breaking, losing control. Magma dripped from his eyes, the tears of a fire demon, as a burst of heat stabbed up his spine. It was nearly painful, but not quite. Jongin wrapped an arm around his waist, pressing frigid lips to Kyungsoo’s fevered neck. Each touch made Jongin steam, cold hissing against heat. For one moment, just a fragment of a second, Kyungsoo was afraid the fire would consume him; fire, which had birthed him, which was his very essence. Another kiss from Jongin, another thrust, and the fear was gone.

“I can’t hold much longer,” Kyungsoo moaned, digging his nails into Jongin’s chest.

“Then let go,” Jongin said softly.

Kyungsoo did, and at last he understood; Jongin had been right. The dark that poured from him was vast, absolute and empty, and Kyungsoo was a planetary core, a dying star, all the brighter because of the depth of the blackness that was Jongin and his shadows. It was creation in chaos, the possibility of new life in the violent destruction of the old. The force of his orgasm tore up his spine, exploded across his back; by the time it reached his fingers he’d already dissolved into a vaguely humanoid ball of fire. This lasted only for a moment before he was pulled into his core, condensed and hot and desperate to explode again. The shadows beneath him reached a tendril towards him, and with a sizzle, touched him. That was all it took. A full beat of silence, of stillness in the surrounding valley, and Kyungsoo erupted, a shockwave of blistering heat that scorched the earth, even as veins of magma bubbled from beneath. Darkness accompanied this, pooling in the crevices that the fire did not occupy, eating sunlight with ash.

Somewhere in the ridge of mountains above the towns, a catastrophe of a smaller kind happened, crackling storm and sinking earth.

 

—————

 

Kyungsoo blinked away the sleep, rubbing his eyes. He felt disoriented, but it did not surprise him. After a mating this destructive, it took a demon thousands of years to reassemble, to recover memories and consciousness. The heat of the earth, still active despite the time that had passed since he’d pulled the heart of magma to the surface, comforted him, but something was wrong. He couldn’t quite remember what; his mind was still fuzzy, but something about the darkness that pooled in the corner of the remains of the basilica seemed familiar.

“I told you we’d make it,” said a voice Kyungsoo recognized.

He turned to look. It was his mate, draped in shadows, kneeling beside him.

“Jongin,” it was all Kyungsoo could say, but his heart leapt and the earth pulsed with heat.

Jongin kissed him, deep and cool, and Kyungsoo thirsted for his lips, climbing onto Jongin’s lap. The other demon laughed, hugging him close.

“Come on, Sehun and Chanyeol have been waiting for us,” Jongin purred.

They stood, even as Kyungsoo pouted, craving touch, something he couldn’t savor without his corporeal form. Jongin brushed his lips against Kyungsoo’s cheek.

“Time is the least of our worries now,” he whispered. “Once everyone sees we’re alright, I promise we’ll travel the edges of the universe together.”

“I want to travel _your_ edges,” Kyungsoo grumbled. Jongin laughed.

“Soon, my little sun, soon.”


End file.
